1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a honeycomb structure. More particularly, it relates to a honeycomb structure capable of being used as a catalyst carrier, which functions as a heater by applying a voltage.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, a honeycomb structure made of cordierite on which a catalyst is loaded has been used in a disposal of harmful substances in an exhaust gas discharged from a car engine. Moreover, a honeycomb structure formed by a sintered body of silicon carbide has been used in purification of the exhaust gas.
When the exhaust gas is treated by the catalyst loaded on the honeycomb structure, it is necessary to raise a temperature of the catalyst to a predetermined temperature. However, at start of the engine, the catalyst temperature is low, and hence it has caused the problem that the exhaust gas is not sufficiently purified.
Thus, there has been investigated a catalyst converter including a catalyst carrier to be heated by energization, and electrodes, wherein the catalyst carrier is constituted of a plurality of segments arranged in a direction perpendicular to a straight line connecting the centers of the respective electrodes to each other (e.g., see Patent Document 1). In the catalyst converter, each of volume resistivity of the above plurality of segments is varied, thereby attempting to uniformize amount of heat generated by the energization.
Furthermore, there has also been suggested a honeycomb structure including a plurality of conductive segment sintered parts each having a honeycomb structure, and a joint material sintered part which joins the above conductive segment sintered parts to each other (e.g., see Patent Document 2).    [Patent Document 1] JP-A-2012-188958    [Patent Document 2] JP-A-2011-98866